Garment having anti-perspirant means



Jan. 14, 1969 v FRIEDLANDER 3,421,514

GARMENT HAVING ANTI-PERSPIRANT MEANS- Filed Feb. 1, 1967 Sheet of 2 ATNEys III INVENTOR. Rgn-l FRIEDLAN DER ATTORNEYS United States PatentOffice 3,421,514 Patented Jan. 14, 1969 3,421,514 GARMENT HAVINGANTI-PERSPIRANT MEANS Ruth Fr'iedlander, 1919 Curtis St., Berkeley,Calif. 94702 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 497,875,

Oct. 19, 1965. This application Feb. 1, 1967, Ser.

No. 613,339 U.S. Cl. 128-454 Int. Cl. A41c 3/08 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE Cross-reference to related application This application is acontinuation-in-part of co-pending application Ser. No. 497,875, filedOct. 19, 1965, now abandoned, for Garment.

Background of the invention This invention relates to garments and moreparticularly to a womans undergarment which includes as a part thereofunderarm perspiration shields for the protection of outer garments andmeans by which the perspiration shields are held in place.

To protect a dress or other outer garment from soiling by underarmperspiration, it is common for women to use underarm perspirationshields. These shields are generally laminated cloth bodies having alayer of absorbing material to be adjacent the skin of the wearer and anouter layer of a liquid impervious material.

In most instances, perspiration shields are bought as separate items,and the user secures them to the inside of the outer garment at theappropriate places. This securance is usually accomplished by means ofstitching, snaps or an adhesive. None of these securing methods is fullysatisfactory. For example, stitching is laborious, especially since theshields must often be removed from the garment for washing and the like.It is difficult to attach snaps to the garment such that they do notshow on the outside of the garment. When an adhesive is used, theshields often slip or bunch up, especially if the wearer is active.

Attachment of the shields to the outer garment has other disadvantages.To permit free movement of the arms of the wearer, the armholes andupper sleeves of dresses are usually larger than the wearers arm. Theresult is that shields attached to the garment are not closely adjacentto the wearers armpits or axillary regions. Perspiration therefore canoften escape contact with the shields and soil the garment. Moreover,movement of the wearers arms often causes the shields to bunch up andmake un-neat visible outlines. While undergarments which includeperspiration shields as a part thereof have been designed, theseundergarments also generally do not maintain the shields in sufficientlyclose proximity to the axillary region of the wearer to prevent escapeof perspiration or to prevent bunching up. Also, in most instances,these undergarments have to be worn in addition to the otherundergarments conventionally Worn.

Summary of the invention The present invention overcomes the abovedifliculties. It comprises an undergarment which includes perspirationshields and which has shoulder portions of a stretchable material andadapted to pass over the shoulders of the wearer. When the undergarmentis being worn, these shoulder portions will place an upward and inwardforce on the perspiration shields to thereby maintain them closelyadjacent the axillary regions of the wearer irrespective of theorientation of the wearers arms. Thus no perspiration can escape.Furthermore, this will result in the shields being inwardly spaced fromthe outer garment a suflicient distance to prevent them from causingnoticeable outlines on the outside of the outer garment.

Elastic means interconnect the shields across the body of the wearer. Toprovide this elastic means, it is preferred that the stretchableshoulder portions be adapted to be laterally secured together across thebody of the wearer to provide both a corsetting action and a lateralforce on the perspiration shields. This will assure that theperspiration shields are maintained against the thorax sides of thearmpits or axillary regions and collect all perspiration thereat. Aswill be described hereinafter, fastening means which permit adjustmentof the amount of force tending to maintain the perspiration shields inthe axillary region are also provided.

The undergarment of the invention can incorporate the features andfunctions of a conventional undergarment, such as those of brassieres orslips. Thus, the undergarment can replace the conventional undergarmentand thereby not add to the layers of clothing worn by the user. When theundergarment does incorporate the functions of a conventionalundergarment, the stretchable shoulder portions have another decidedadvantage. They eliminate the necessity of providing the shoulder strapsor the like which are now on conventional undergarments. Such strapstend to leave marks and irritate the skin of the wearer, and the meansby which their length may be regulated are generally ineflicient.Because the shoulder portions of the instant invention are relativelywide and are of a stretchable material, they are not subject to thedisadvantages of straps.

Brief description of the drawings With reference to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front perspective view of a womans undergarment of thepresent invention shown worn by a woman.

FIGURE 2 is a rear perspective view of the undergarment on a woman shownin FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a rear perspective view of another undergarment of theinvention as worn by a woman.

Description of the preferred embodiments Referring now to FIGURES 1 and2 of the drawings, an undergarment of the invention, generally referredto by the reference numeral 10, is shown covering the thorax region of awomans body. The illustrated undergarment is a brassiere and includes abody portion 11 having the usual cups for accommodating the breasts of awoman. It is to be appreciated that while this exemplary embodiment is abrassiere, the invention is equally applicable to other undergarmentswhich cover the thorax region or which are adapted to be supported atleast in part by the shoulders of the wearer.

In accordance with the invention, the undergarment .10 includes underarmperspiration shields 12 and 13. These shields are of a conventionalnature in that they comprise an outer layer of impervious material andan inner layer of absorbing material. As shown, they extend forgenerally the full length of the brassiere from adjacent the wearersbreast upward over the armpit or axillary region. The extent to whichthe perspiration shields will extend over or beyond the axillary regionwill depend, of course, on the design of the outer garment with whichthe undergarment is to be worn. The embodiment shown is for wear withdresses or other outer garments having sleeves. If the outer garment hasshort capped sleeves, or is sleeveless with built up side panels, theperspiration shields would not extend upward quite as far as shown.

Undergarment also includes shoulder portions 14 and 16 which extend overthe shoulders of the wearer from the breast cups of body portion 11 to aband 17 of the undergarment which encircles the wearers lower thoraxregion. As a particularly salient point of the present invention, eachshoulder portion is made of an elastic or other stretchable material andis secured to the opposite sides of the perspiration shield 12 or 13with which it is associated.

Because of the stretchable nature of the shoulder portions, they placean upward and inward force on the perspiration shields to maintain themwithin the axillary regions of the wearer, and yet they allow freemovement of the wearers arm. Thus, even in situations in which thewearer is quite active, such as in dancing or in sports, the shieldswill remain in place and prevent perspiration from reaching the outergarment. Moreover, because of their close fit within the axillaryregions, such shields will not chafe the arms of the wearer or otherwisebe uncomfortable.

Desirably, the shoulder portions are of an elastic mesh material whichcan include decorative patterns and which allows free flow of air to theskin of the wearer. It is preferred that these shoulder portions berelatively wide, especially at the point at which they pass over theshoulders of the wearer so that the yieldable pressure they provide onthe wearer is distributed over a fairly large area of the wearersshoulder. In this regard, it has been found that best results areobtained when these shoulder portions are at least two inches wide atthe top of the shoulder.

The stretchable shoulder portions 14 and 16 extend downward along thesides of the perspiration shields and are adapted to be secured to eachother laterally across the body of the wearer. Because of this theshoulder portions also provide a corsetting action and a lateral forceon the perspiration shields tending to maintain such shields against thethorax side of the wearers axillary regions. This will further assureclose fit of the shields in the axillary regions and also prevent anyperspiration from escaping by travelling downward from such regions.

As shown in FIGURE 2, at the back of the garment this lateral securancetogether of the two shoulder portions 14 and 16 is provided by afastening means which is generally referred to by the reference numeral18. Fastening means '18 allows selective separation of the shoulderportions to facilitate putting on and removal of garment 10. Mostdesirably, fastening means 18 is of a type which also permits adjustmentof the corsetting action and lateral force provided by the shoulderportions 14 and 16. In the embodiment shown, the fastening meanscomprises a zipper 19 which extends upward from hand 17 along the inwardedges of the shoulder portions adjacent the lower rear thorax of thewearer. Band 17 is divided below zipper 19 to allow full separation ofthe rear portions of the garment and a suitable fastener, such as button21 is provided for securing'the band about the wearer.

It will be appreciated that the extent to which the shoulder portionscause a lateral force on the perspiration shields is related to theextent to which zipper 19 is closed. That is, when the zipper is onlypartly closed, the lateral force will be less than when the zipper isfully closed. Thus, a wearer can adjust the lateral force for their owncomfort by setting the zipper to the appropriate closure position. Tofacilitate holding the zipper at different positions of closure, hookand eye assemblies 20 are spaced along the zipper and are adapted tobridge the same and hold the two shoulder portions secured together.

While in the embodiment being described the fastening means 18 is azipper and hook-and-eye combination, other types of fastening means canbe utilized to permit adjustment of the lateral force provided by theshoulder portions. For example, if the fastening means were a verticalrow of buttons, the adjustment could be provided by leaving anappropriate number of the uppermost buttons unfastened.

The front of the undergarment shown is also provided with separablefastening means to facilitate putting on and removal of the garment.More particularly, a vertically disposed zipper 22 connects inward edgesof the breast cups alon the sternum of the wearer. This zipper can alsobe used to regulate the amount of lateral force provided by the shoulderportions on the perspiration shields. More particularly, hook and eyemembers 23 are provided along the length of the zipper to hold it at anyposition of closure. It is to be noted that at the front of the garment,the elastic shoulder portions 14 and 16 are not direcly attached to eachother to provide the lateral securance together thereof across the bodyof the wearer. Rather, each is suitably secured, such as by sewing tothe top edge of one of the breast cups and then the breast cups arephysically secured together. The band 17 is also separable below thefront zipper 22 and has a button 24 for securing the band about thewearer.

It is to be noted that the securance of the perspiration shields 12 and13 to the shoulder portions and the other portions of the garment can bemade in any suitable manner. The shoulder portions rnay be madeinseparable parts of the garment as shown in the drawings by having themsewn to the adjacent under-garment portions. They may also be detachablysecured to the garment, such as by means of zippers or snaps, so thatthey may be removed for separate washing or the like. It is to befurther noted that it is not necesary for the shoulder portions to besecured to the perspiration shields at their edges to hold them withinthe axillary regions. If such shoulder portions extend beyond the edgesof the shields or form complete sleeve portions enclosing the shields,they will maintain the shields in the axillary regions in the desiredmanner. When it is stated herein and in the claims that the shoulderportions are secured to the perspiration shields, the above arrangementsare meant to be included.

In some instances, it is desirable to enable more adjustment of theamount of corsetting action and the force on the perspiration shieldsthan that provided by the front and back zippers 19 and 22. This isparticularly true with respect to the upward and inward forces tendingto urge the shields into the axillary regions. There is shown in FIGURE3 an embodiment of the invention which includes means for providing thisfurther adjustment. More particularly, each of the shoulder portions 31and 32 of the depicted embodiment includes at the rear of the garment aplurality of triangular folded portions or pleats 33 extending widthwisethereof. The apexes of these pleats are adjacent the perspirationshields 3 4 and the bases thereof are at the inward edges of theshoulder portions. Fastening means, such as the zippers 36, areassociated with each pleat for selectively securing the edges thereoftogether starting from the apexes of the pleats. When a zipper 36 is inthe open position, the pleat associated therewith is allowed to expand,thus, in effect, lengthening the shoulder portion and relieving thetightness with which it will fit the wearer. To illustrate this, all thepleats on shoulder portion 32 are shown in the expanded position and allthe pleats on shoulder portion 31 are shown in the closed position. Itis to be appreciated that the questions of whether these pleats andfastening means are to be provided, and how many should be on eachshoulder portion are going to depend on the desired amount ofadjustment.

What is claimed is:

1. In an undergarment of the type which when worn is supported at leastin part by the shoulders of the wearer, a body portion including abreast covering portion, a pair of underarm perspiration shields securedto said body portion, said shields respectively adapted to fit withinone of the axillary regions of a wearer, relatively wide shoulderportions of a stretchable material adapted to extend over the shouldersof the wearer, said stretchable shoulder portions being secured toopposite sides of said perspiration shields to yieldably urge saidshields into the axillary regions of the wearer, and elastic meansinterconnecting said shields across the body of the wearer to provide alateral force on said perspiration shields urging said shields againstthe thorax side of the axillary region of the wearer.

2. An undergarment according to claim 1 wherein said elastic meanscomprise means for laterally securing said shoulder portions togetheracross the body of the wearer.

3. An undergarment according to claim 2 wherein fastening means securedto the inward edges of said shoulder portions selectively provide saidlateral securance of said shoulder portions together, said fasteningmeans being adjustable on the upper extent of the length of said edgeswhich is secured together.

4. An undergarment according to claim 3 wherein said fastening means isa zipper and include means by which said zipper can be maintained atselected positions of closure.

5. An undergarment according to claim 2 wherein each of said shoulderportions is at least 2 inches in width where said portions are adaptedto pass over the top of the shoulder of a wearer.

6. An undengarment according to claim 2 wherein said shoulder portionsare adapted to extend down the back of the wearer beyond the axillaryregions and are secured tov a band adapted to encircle the lower thoraxregion of the wearer.

7. An undergarment according to claim 6 wherein said perspirationshields extend downward from the axillary regions to said band and aresecured thereto, and wherein said underganment includes breast cupsadapted to accommodate the breasts of the wearer, said shoulder portionsbeing secured to the upper edges of said cups.

8. An undergarment according to claim 7 wherein each of said cups isseparate from the other and fastening means are provided at their inwardedges for securing said cups together, said fastening means beingadjustable as to the upper extent of the length of said edges of saidcups which is secured together.

9. An undergarment according to claim 3 wherein said shoulder portionsinclude expandable folded sections extending generally laterally of suchportions, and fastening means at each of said folded sections forselectively allowing said sections to be expanded.

10. An underga rment according to claim 9 in which said fastening meansat each of said folded sections is a zipper for securing together thelateral edges of said sections.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 507,373 10/ 1 893 Lendry 128-494770,752 9/ 1904 Hull 2-54 863,917 8/1907 Guest et al 254 1,295,4272/1919 Burr 254 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 2-54; 128-5l0

